


Wherever You Find Love (It Feels Like Christmas)

by la_muerta



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Christmas Fluff, F/F, Fake dating all around, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Smut, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-22 16:32:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17063168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/la_muerta/pseuds/la_muerta
Summary: Alec's just broken up with his asshole of a boyfriend, and that wouldn't really be a problem if he wasn't supposed to bring a partner on the annual Lightwood Christmas ski trip, ostensibly to prove to his father that he's really, really, seriously gay. Out of desperation, he tries to get himself a fake boyfriend on Grindr - and that's just the beginning.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [irisadler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/irisadler/gifts).



> Happy birthday, [irisadler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/irisadler/profile)! Sorry, this was supposed to be quick and dirty, but the boys had other ideas ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 

 

 

 

"We're done. Don't ever call me again," Alec said flatly.

Over the phone, his boyfriend - _ex_ -boyfriend - Raj said incredulously, "Come on, babe, you can't be serious. You're breaking up with me over the phone?"

"You don't get to lecture me on dating etiquette - considering you tried to set up a three-way without my consent," Alec fumed. "Why the fuck would you even think that was ok?"

"If you've never given it a try, you'll never kno-"

"Fuck off, Raj," Alec snapped, and disconnected the call, then quickly blocked Raj's number and stuffed his phone back in his pocket.

Truth be told, Alec was kind of relieved that he'd had an excuse to break up with Raj. They'd only been going out for a couple of months and Alec already found everything about him annoying, especially how Raj seemed to assume that he was entitled to Alec's time and attention. They'd already had one huge fight when Alec had refused to cancel his weekly pizza night with his siblings because Raj had wanted to crash a frat party. In fact, he'd already decided to break it off - but _after_ the annual Lightwood Christmas ski trip over the long weekend, because he'd promised everyone that he was bringing his boyfriend, even though he knew that a couple of months into a relationship was a bit early for meeting the parents.

The ski trip that he was supposed drive out to the Catskill Mountains for tomorrow morning. _Fuck_.  

It was just that Robert Lightwood's persistent dismissal of Alec's insistence that no, he didn't want Robert to set him up with his friends' daughters because he was fucking _gay_ , and no, it wasn't "just a phase", was really wearing thin. Alec had had other relationships before this, but he hadn't been out of the closet long, and Raj was the first boyfriend he'd had who was out and proud. He could just tell them the truth, of course, and his siblings had already met Raj, so they could back him up. But he had a feeling that his father was going to be condescending and smug, and that he was going to offer to set Alec up with some girl again, and Alec had had enough. 

He took his phone out again and was about to call Izzy to vent his frustrations when he remembered that she was on the night shift at the hospital. Jace would be of no help - he'd probably just suggest that they get plastered. He scrolled through his contact list as he trudged along the icy, crowded street from the subway to his apartment, wondering if there was anyone he could call up as a last-minute fill-in. He was still friendly with a couple of his exes, but it'd be weird asking them to go on a ski trip as his date - he didn't want them to think he wanted to get back together. Simon would probably have thought it hilarious and would have been willing to help Alec out. But Simon was already dating Jace while pretending to be dating Izzy, and would be going as her plus-one; while Izzy's girlfriend and Simon's best friend, Clary, would be going as Jace's plus-one, and on the whole his siblings' love lives were so complicated, Alec wasn't going to touch that with a ten-foot pole. 

He stopped at the crossing, and a flyer taped to a lamppost caught his eye. It was an advertisement for dog-walking services, and was completely to blame for the bout of madness that followed. 

People put up advertisements for all sorts of things all the time, right? 

Taking a deep breath, Alec clicked on the app store and started typing out a search for Grindr.

 

\--

 

"What do you think, Chairman? Should I get Grindr or Tinder?" Magnus asked the grey-and-white cat purring on his lap as he stroked its fur contemplatively. He stopping stroking Chairman to reach for the glass of whiskey on the side table, and the cat meowed in protest. "You're right, it's too soon to be dating seriously again, but just the thought of having to watch Camille parading her new beau around like a prize hog at the office Christmas eve party on Monday is making me feel sick."

And Christmas was an especially lonely time for Magnus. Ragnor refused to pay through his nose for plane tickets during the holiday season on principle, preferring to hole up alone in his dusty office in Cambridge. Raphael would be spending time with his family, as he rightly should, and Catarina always volunteered for extra shifts at the hospital so that everyone else could have time off for the holidays. Maybe he just needed a casual hook-up or two to tide him over the loneliness of the holiday season. 

Mind made up, he downloaded the Grindr app, finishing his whiskey and pouring out another in the time that it took to load. While it was understood that everyone on Grindr was usually "down to fuck", Magnus had learnt early that those who had a picture of a faceless muscled torso as their profile picture were almost always assholes, which narrowed down the playing field considerably. He'd gone through a few dozen profiles before he spotted a face, and what a face - even in the grainy, back-lit selfie, Magnus could tell that the guy was gorgeous. 

He scanned through the guy's profile quickly, then did a double take and had to re-read the sentence a few times before he was sure the whiskey hadn't impaired his ability to read. In his description, 'Alec' had stated that he was "looking for NSA boyfriend", which was an oxymoron if he'd ever heard one. What in the world did he mean by a "no-strings-attached boyfriend"? Curiosity piqued, Magnus messaged him and got a response almost immediately. 

 

Twenty-five minutes later, Magnus was sitting in a bar round the corner from his apartment, nursing a third, possibly ill-advised whiskey for the night. For all he knew, he was being catfished by an organ trafficking racket and he was going to wake up in a seedy motel bathtub full of ice and missing a kidney (and the joke would be on them, given how much alcohol he drank).  

Another twenty minutes went by, and Magnus was pretty sure that he'd been stood up, when a tall, lanky figure ducked into the doorway from the cold outside. He glanced around and spotted Magnus almost immediately, but stood there for a full ten seconds, just staring at Magnus, before he seemed to come back to himself and walked towards the counter. 

"Hi. Sorry I'm late," he said a little breathlessly. 

"I thought you weren't going to turn up," Magnus said. 

"I thought I wasn't, too," the guy had the decency to admit. "But I figured that since I'd made you come out here in the cold, the least I could do was show up so you could laugh at me to my face."

"I'm not going to laugh, I promise," Magnus said solemnly, raising his hand to show him that he'd crossed his fingers.

The guy snorted and looked skeptical, but he sat down anyway and ordered a Dark 'n' Stormy. 

"It's Alec, right?" Magnus asked him. 

"Yeah. And is 'Magnus' your real name, or... y'know, just for the app?"

"Why, because 'Magnus' means 'great'?" he teased, grinning. Alec rolled his eyes but the corner of his lips was twitching with a smile.

"Yes, Magnus is my real name. Now, tell me - why exactly does a gorgeous guy like you need to advertise for a fake boyfriend on Grindr?" 

 

One hour, two drinks apiece, and the Cliff Notes version of the complexities of Lightwood family drama later, Magnus was feeling highly sympathetic towards Alec's predicament, a little bit woozy, and maybe more than a little bit reckless. 

"...and then I kinda freaked out and was going to delete the app when you messaged me," Alec finished.

"Ok, I'll do it," Magnus declared. "I need an excuse to avoid my ex-girlfriend this weekend, and this is perfect. Besides, you had your profile on Grindr up for all of five minutes, and I just happened to click on it? If that isn't fate, I don't know what is, darling."

"Really?" Alec said in surprise, then added more cautiously, "This isn't a going to be a sex thing, though."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Magnus said, waving a hand around expansively. "All I ask is that if we're both still swinging single in June, you'll accompany me as my plus-one to my company dinner-and-dance."

"Ok, yeah, I can do that," Alec said, nodding.

"When do we leave?" Magnus asked.

"Um... at 9am."

Magnus peered blearily at the time on his phone. "In seven hours' time?"

"Yeah, I probably should have led with that," Alec said sheepishly. 

"You want me to pack for a five-day getaway in the middle of the mountains fit to impress your parents, find someone to take care of my cat, and catch my forty winks of beauty sleep so that I won't look like a racoon, all in seven hours?"

"It's ok if you can't, I know it's really last minute-" Alec mumbled.

"Well, I love a challenge," Magnus said brightly. "Besides, the office is closed for the rest of the week after Christmas anyway."

"Oh, good," Alec said, heaving a sigh of relief. "I'll come pick you up, and I'll do the driving, so you can nap in the car on the way there."

"You're sweet. I can see pretending to be your boyfriend isn't going to be difficult at all," Magnus said with a wink. 

 

\--

 

Alec wouldn't have blamed Magnus for not turning up when he'd sobered up. Heck, he'd been so embarrassed about what he'd done that he'd sent out a brief message into the group chat with his siblings and their partners, telling them that he'd broken up with Raj and might be bringing someone else, then turned off his phone so that he wouldn't have to deal with their questions until he got there. But as promised, Magnus was waiting for Alec at the lobby of Magnus' apartment block at 9am sharp with two huge suitcases, a thick grey parka with a faux fur hood slung over one arm, and sipping something from a travel mug, with another mug in his other hand. He let out a whistle at the sight of Alec's midnight blue Porsche, but Alec thought Magnus was being ridiculous, because this was just a stupid car his parents had given him for his birthday, and it was nothing impressive considering Magnus looked like _that_. 

When Alec met Magnus in the bar last night, Magnus had been wearing a suit jacket over skinny jeans and a fitted button-down with a bold print, and a little bit of eyeliner and dark nail polish - stylish, but not too unconventional. Within the last seven hours, Magnus' hair had gained a bright red streak, and he was currently wearing a camel coat over a wine red turtleneck sweater, accessorised with a scarf that seemed to be black on one side and striking red on the other. His makeup was also much more dramatic, with coral eyeshadow and contouring and all that stuff that Izzy always did. Nobody was going to believe that he'd managed to convince a guy like Magnus to go out with him on his own merit.

"Wow, you look..." Alec floundered around for the right words, but Magnus seemed to get it anyway. 

"Fabulously put-together, despite only having had two hours of sleep?" Magnus asked, holding his arms outstretched and twirling once around for Alec's benefit. "Do you like it? I went all out specifically to piss your father off."

Alec grinned, nodding, and Magnus winked as he handed Alec the two mugs. 

Alec felt a bit like an idiot standing there and not helping, then a bit like a creep admiring Magnus' arm muscles straining against the confines of his coat sleeves as he carried his luggage to the boot of Alec's car. He only remembered that he'd installed cup holders in the car just in time to set the cups down so he could help Magnus with the second suitcase.

"Did you manage to get someone to take care of your cat?" Alec asked as he buckled his seatbelt. 

"My neighbour Maia is going to look after the Chairman for me," Magnus assured him as he settled down, then gestured at one of the mugs. "That's for you, by the way. I wasn't sure how you took your coffee, so..." Magnus reached into the pocket of his coat, and fished out a few packets of single-serving sugar and creamer. "I'm always running late and have to add these on the go."

"Thanks," Alec said in surprise. Well, fuck. He'd really lucked out on this Grindr thing, hadn't he? 

Magnus watched him dump all six packets of sugar in, and hummed. "We should probably get to know each other better on the way there and get our stories straight. What kind of boyfriend wouldn't know that their man takes their sugar black, with some coffee?"

"Hey, don't judge me, I didn't have time for breakfast and I'm driving, I need the sugar," Alec protested over Magnus' laughter. "Getting to know each other better sounds like a good idea though. Why don't we ask each other questions?" Alec suggested as he took a sip of his coffee. 

"Alright. Ask me anything," Magnus offered, pulling off his gloves. Alec noticed that his nail polish had little silvery specks in them now. 

"How do _you_ take your coffee?" Alec asked, putting the car in gear.

Magnus grinned. "For the record, it's one sugar and three creamers, darling."

 

Before they made the first pitstop at a mall just off the interstate for brunch, Alec had also learnt that Magnus worked as the in-house legal counsel for an architectural firm, lived alone with a cat named Chairman Meow, was estranged from his father, and that although he had no other living relatives, he had three good friends that he spoke very fondly of. 

"You've mentioned that your siblings will sort of be in on it, and our relationship is supposed to be quite new still, but I feel like we need to know one or two intimate details about each other, things only someone really close to you would know, to really convince your parents," Magnus said contemplatively as he chewed on a fry. 

Alec nodded as he chewed his mouthful of food. "Ok, like what?" 

"Hmm. What TV show is your guilty pleasure?" Magnus asked. 

" _Dancing with the Stars,_ I guess. My siblings know I can't dance, but I've always admired people who could," Alec replied. 

"Really?" Magnus practically purred. "Well, I've been told that I'm quite a good dancer."

"Oh." Alec could totally imagine that Magnus would be a fantastic dancer. 

"I could teach you."

"Oh my god, _no._ I'd probably step on your toes all the time," Alec said hurriedly. "Um, how about you?" 

"I don't think there's a TV show that fits the bill, but I've probably watched _Love Actually_ more times than it's healthy."

"It's a great movie, though," Alec said. "My favourite storyline was the one with the father and his stepson."

"Mine is the rockstar and his manager, and that terrible song with the sexy Santa girls," Magnus replied, grinning, and Alec laughed. "This may be the first Christmas eve since it came out that I won't be sitting home alone with my cat, a bottle of wine, and a tub of chocolate ice-cream, watching it for the twentieth time."

"Tell you what, if they have it on cable at the cabin, I'll try to get wine and ice-cream and watch it with you," Alec said. "After all, if it's tradition..."

"That's actually really sweet. Thank you," Magnus said, beaming. "Did you say 'cabin', though? I thought we would be in the ski resort."

"Oh, my grandfather was one of the original owners of the Hunter Mountain resort, so when it was bought over, part of the deal was that we got a private cabin away from the main resort," Alec explained. 

"A private cabin?" Magnus stared at Alec. "Oh, fuck. You're from _that_ Lightwood family. The real estate Lightwoods."

"Um, yeah," Alec admitted. 

"So when you said that you were the head accountant in your parents' company, did you mean that you're the CFO of Lightwood & Trueblood Development?" 

"...yes? Well, it's just a job."

Magnus snorted. "Yes, the way that a Porsche is just a car."

"Is it, um, going to be a problem?" Alec asked.

"Is it going to be a problem for your parents that your fake boyfriend is the son of the CEO of their main competitor, Edom Real Estate?" Magnus countered. "Even though I'm not working for my father."

"Oh. So you're _that_ Bane. I thought it was just a coincidence," Alec said, eyes widening, then added a little defiantly, "Well, I can date whoever I want. Uh, fake date, I mean."

"That's good to know," Magnus replied, grinning.

 

\--

 

They got back on the interstate and made good time for the rest of the journey. On both sides of the road, winter-bare trees reached up to the pale blue sky, solid walls of spindly brown branches and skinny tree trunks interrupted by the occasional evergreen spruce or small stretches of residential areas. Magnus could see white snow lying stark on dark soil as they climbed up in altitude, the peak of Hunter Mountain visible ahead of them. The roads were completely empty, gently winding grey pathways cutting into the mountains, the ground to the left getting steadily steeper while the right dropped off to a dreary view of the town at the foot of the mountain.

Magnus should have been desperately sleepy after so little sleep the night before, but he found himself wide awake, talking and laughing with Alec until they turned into the wide driveway of the ski resort. Alec popped out of the car to settle some paperwork at the main counter, and the moment Alec opened the door and let the cold in, Magnus turned the collar of his coat up and fumbled to get his gloves back on. _Fuck_ , it wasn't just cold, it was like being dumped in the middle of the fucking frozen lake in the ninth circle of Hell, and Magnus _hated_ the cold. 

It was one of the considerations that had come up this morning, when Magnus had woken up to a shrill alarm at 8am, spotted the suitcases he'd packed the night before, and remembered what he'd done. He didn't know how to ski, couldn't stand the cold, and yet he'd agreed to go to a ski resort in the mountains with a stranger off Grindr. Why the hell had he thought this was a good idea again?

Right, to avoid Camille. And Alec was lucky that he was cute, and that Magnus had plenty of sympathy for people with sucky fathers. Besides, Alec was actually surprisingly easy to talk to once he'd warmed up a little, and Magnus was enjoying himself so far. He supposed he didn't actually have to ski - he could head to the spa that he'd read about on the resort website instead, or just stay in and watch TV. 

 

Alec was back in about fifteen minutes, letting the fucking cold in once again, and then they were off to the private cabin, which was somewhere further up the mountain. Magnus could feel the car sinking into the thick layer of snow as Alec drove up a small lane cutting through a beautiful grove of tall red spruce, until they came to a small clearing - and a gorgeous cabin with dark green roof tiles and unplastered stone walls that put its raw masonry on display.

Alec went to get the door while Magnus unloaded the luggage, and after less than ten torturous minutes in the snow, they were both safely inside the shelter of the cabin, the heater already up and running thanks to a call Alec had made to the resort the day before. The main door led to a narrow foyer with racks for wet shoes and closets containing disposal hotel slippers, and which prevented the cold from getting into the living room every time someone came in from the outside. 

The living room held a massive fireplace in a wall that had palm-sized river-polished stones set in it, and a number of fancy Persian rugs covered most of the pinewood floor. The royal blue sofa was arranged around a huge flat-screen TV, and there was an old-fashioned cast iron chandelier hanging above them that had been retrofitted with LED lights instead of candles. There was also a Christmas tree standing in a corner - a real tree, already decorated by the resort staff. The only complaint Magnus had about the decor was the stuffed bison head hanging above the fireplace, which had a glassy-eyed stare that seemed to follow him around the room. 

"Izzy hates it too. She'll cover it up when she gets here, just wait and see," Alec said. "Come on, I'll give you a tour of the place."

The first level of the cabin consisted of the living room, and a hallway that led to two bedrooms, occupied by Alec's parents - who didn't share the same bed anymore. There was also a sizeable kitchen with a fully-stocked fridge courtesy of the resort staff, although Alec admitted that they'd probably be having most of their meals in the restaurant at the main resort building. 

"Well, there's chocolate ice-cream and Sauvignon Blanc in here," Alec said. 

"Now we just have to get our hands on a copy of _Love Actually_ ," Magnus said with a grin. 

The second level had three bedrooms, each with its own en suite bathroom, and there was another bedroom in the attic with a very low ceiling, claimed by the youngest Lightwood, Max. They brought their luggage up to the biggest room on the second level, which had white oak walls unsullied by paint or wallpaper, a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, floor-to-ceiling windows and a breath-taking view of the tops of snow-covered red-tinged spruce all the way down the side of the mountain - and only one king-sized bed. 

"I'll take the floor," Alec said. "I brought a sleeping bag-" 

"Don't be ridiculous, Alexander. The bed is big enough for the both of us," Magnus chided. "I'm not a vestal virgin who's going to be disgraced if we share a bed."

Alec cleared his throat. "Um, just so you know, apparently I snore."

"And just so you know, apparently I hog the blankets and have been known to talk in my sleep," Magnus retorted. 

Alec flashed Magnus a lopsided grin. "Yeah, ok. I can deal with that." 

"Good. Then that's settled," Magnus said. He eyed the wardrobe in the corner. "Well, I hope you're ok with living out of your suitcase, though. There's no way this is big enough for the both of us, and I'm prepared to fight you for wardrobe space."

Before Alec could respond, there was a thump downstairs, then the sound of voices. 

"They're here," Alec said, and even though Magnus had only known him for less than a day, he could tell that Alec was nervous as all hell. 

They'd agreed to keep public displays of affection to a minimum to make things less awkward for them both, but Magnus thought this situation definitely called for it. He stepped closer and slid his hand into Alec's, giving it a little squeeze. 

"It'll be fine," he said soothingly. 

Alec gave him a small smile and squeezed back. "Ok, let's do this."

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

They arrived downstairs, still holding hands, to find Robert, Maryse, and Max in the living room. Max was sitting on the couch playing a game on his phone, while Robert and Maryse were having what looked like a whispered argument - as usual. They both looked up at the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and Alec could see the shock on their faces, although Maryse recovered quickly and smiled brightly at Magnus. 

"You must be Alec's boyfriend!" 

"Yes, I'm Magnus. Very pleased to finally meet you, Mrs Lightwood," Magnus said, shaking her hand. 

"Call me Maryse, please," she said. "'Mrs Lightwood' makes me feel ancient."

"You don't look a day over thirty-five," Magnus assured her, and she laughed in delight. He stuck out his hand towards Robert. "And it's lovely to meet you too, sir."

Robert stared at Magnus' hand, and his sparkly nails, and grasped it for a split second before letting go and not-so-subtly taking out a handkerchief to wipe his hand. Maryse and Alec both scowled at him. 

"Um, yes. Nice to meet you," Robert said. 

The main door opened again, and Alec's siblings and their partners flooded into the room, rescuing Robert from the gay cooties, or so he thought. 

Before Alec could try to subtly tell his siblings Magnus' name, Clary's eyes widened, and Simon blurted out, "Magnus?!" 

Alec froze. What the fuck? 

"Biscuit! Simon!" Magnus said in surprise, and pulled Clary in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I didn't realise you were dating Alexander's lovely siblings."

_Alexander?_ Jace mouthed at Alec, and Alec shrugged. Nobody else called him by his full name, not even his mum, but he kind of liked the way it sounded when Magnus said it. 

"It's good to see you again, Magnus. We have so much to catch up on, it's been too long!" Izzy said with a twinkle in her eye, and went in for a hug and a cheek kiss. 

For a while the sounds of laughter and conversation filled the space, reverberating against glass, wood and stone. Alec soon figured out from the conversation that Magnus, Clary, and Simon had all lived in the same neighbourhood when Magnus' mother was still alive, and Magnus had tutored them in their schoolwork on occasion for spare cash. 

"Children, don't leave the luggage in the hallway," Maryse scolded, trying to manoeuvre her suitcase around them. 

"I'll help you with yours," Magnus offered, taking over what happened to be Robert's suitcase as well. Alec had a moment of vindictive satisfaction at Robert's discomfort, and hoped Robert remembered that Magnus had touched his suitcase every time he had to get a change of clothes. 

Alec, Jace, Simon, and Max brought the rest of the suitcases up, leaving the girls to unpack the Christmas decorations. Once Max had disappeared into his attic room with the promise to come down to help with the decorations later (he wouldn't), Jace practically pounced on Alec, bombarding him with questions. 

"Dude! What the fuck happened with Raj, where did you even meet Magnus, and how did you end up bringing him?" Jace demanded. 

Alec sighed. "Can I tell you later when Izzy and Clary are around, so that I won't have to repeat myself?" 

"Gotta say, Magnus is a vast improvement over Raj, though," Simon observed. "We were all kind of worried about having to spend five days with Raj - general consensus was that Raj wasn't going to live to tell the tale."

Alec snorted. "I think would have helped you guys get rid of the body."

"What were the fucking chances that he happens to know Simon and Clary?" Jace asked as the went down the stairs, and met a furious Robert at the foot of the stairs. 

"Do you think this is a joke?" Robert hissed at Alec. "It's bad enough that you're insisting on this ridiculous 'boyfriend' business, and you decided that it would be funny to invite Magnus _Bane_ on our family Christmas trip?"

Alec clenched his jaw. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his mother and Magnus coming out from the hallway that led to the bedrooms. Izzy and Clary had abandoned their task of sorting out the box of decorations, getting up from the sofa with matching frowns.

"Yeah, I know who Magnus' father is, and I don't care," Alec said.

Robert turned to Maryse, looking for support from his wife, but she crossed her arms and glared at him, unimpressed. On his other side, Izzy was also crossing her arms and glaring at Robert, a mirror image of her mother.

Robert took a look around at all the unsympathetic faces and knew he was outnumbered. "I'm going to the resort bar," he muttered sullenly, slamming the door behind him as he left. In a few minutes, they heard the engine of one of the cars starting up.

"Don't worry, it wouldn't be a Lightwood Christmas ski trip without at least one shouting match per day," Jace said cheerfully, slinging an arm around Simon's shoulders. "Welcome to the family."

"Well, if it's tradition..." Magnus winked at Alec, and Alec let out a snort of laughter.

"Who's up for decorations?" Izzy asked brightly. At Magnus' quizzical look, she said, "Every year since we can remember, we've come up here for Christmas, and the tree is always already decorated by the staff. So I decided that I'd decorate the house instead!"

"Sounds fun," Magnus agreed. "Please tell me you have something for that bison head."

"Oh my god, of course!" Izzy said grabbing him by the arm. "That was part of the reason why I wanted to decorate the house! And you've _got_ to tell me where you bought that eyeshadow, I've been looking for that exact shade for ages..."

 

Magnus took Izzy's exuberance all in stride, cheerfully chatting with her as if they were already old friends. Alec moved to join them at the open box spilling tinsel and fairy-lights everywhere, but his mother tapped him on the arm. 

"Could you help me in the kitchen? I wanted to check if the resort staff washed the champagne flutes on the top shelf this year - they were all dusty last year," Maryse said.

"Sure," Alec said, although he was sure this had nothing to do with champagne flutes.

Sure enough, after he'd dutifully checked the spotless glassware on the top shelf, Maryse said, "Alec, dear, I think we need to talk."

"Mum, if this is about Magnus' father-" 

"Oh, god, no," Maryse said with a laugh. "Magnus seems lovely. The fact that he's Asmodeus' son is the least of my worries."

"Then what's this about?" 

"You say that you've been dating for two months, and I know Izzy and Jace claim that they've met him, but I know that they're lying," Maryse said. "On the other hand, it does look like he knows Clary and Simon, and how can it be possible that you've been dating for two months and never knew that you had friends in common?" 

"Ok, yeah, fine. You're right, Magnus has never met Jace and Izzy, he's really busy at work-" Alec started, but quailed under his mother's piercing gaze. 

"I also happen to recall that your boyfriend's name was supposed to be Raj. I'm not as inattentive as your father," Maryse said drily. 

Alec deflated. Why had he even thought the fake dating plan would work at all? "Raj and I broke up last night." 

"Oh, honey," Maryse said sympathetically, and gave Alec a hug. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It was gonna happen sooner or later anyway," Alec said with a shrug. 

"And Magnus?" 

"Magnus is a random nice guy I picked up at a bar who accepted my crazy invitation to come along just to piss Dad off," Alec admitted. 

Maryse pinned Alec with a shrewd look. "Hmm. Well, for a random nice guy you picked up at a bar, I must say it took some luck to pick up Magnus."

"Why, because he's the son of your rival?" 

"No, because he and Izzy are getting along like a house on fire, he's already friends with your siblings' partners, and he makes you laugh," Maryse said gently. 

"Like I said, Magnus is nice," Alec said awkwardly. She'd been surprisingly supportive when he came out, but it was weird talking to her about his love life, or lack thereof. "Um, should I go after Dad?" he asked, trying to change the topic. 

Maryse shook her head. "Let him stew. If he wants to be a bigot to his own children, we don't want him here." She hesitated, then continued, "We had another big fight on the way up."

"About me?" Alec asked. 

"Among other things," she replied evasively. "I stayed with him because of the company, and Max, but..."

"Mum, you're the CEO. You're the one who does everything. Dad may have a share in the company, but I do, too. You know I'd take your side, right?" Alec said seriously. "And Max is turning seventeen next year, he'll be fine."

Maryse smiled at him and patted him on the cheek. "I'll think about it. But enough of that - why don't you help me get refreshments for our hardworking interior decorators?" 

Alec snorted. "I don't know about hardworking, but ok. What do you need me to do?"

 

\--

 

"That's it. There isn't any more to the story," Magnus insisted as he tried to unravel a tangled ball of tinsel.

"So a random guy asked you to go along with him on a trip and pretend to be his boyfriend, and you just went along with it?" Jace asked incredulously. "What if Alec was a serial killer? I know my boy looks like he's on the straight and narrow, but it's always the ones you don't expect, you know? Man, you're either batshit-crazy or fucking reckless. I like your guts."

"Thanks? I think," Magnus replied, exchanging a look with Clary that had her bursting out in helpless giggles. 

It took far longer than it should have to string up a few fairy-lights and tinsel garlands because Jace was like an over-eager puppy tangling up stuff they'd _just_ untangled, Clary kept undoing and re-doing everything Simon did, and Izzy was just sitting there admiring her girlfriend's ass. Alec took one look at the mess when he came in with trays of drinks and snacks for them and rolled his eyes. 

"Come here and eat this stuff before you get tinsel in it," he said in a bossy tone. 

And after everyone was done with their food, Alec continued to boss everyone around - Clary was put in charge of artistic direction, Izzy was tasked with hanging up the holly wreaths all over the house, Magnus was given a ladder to reach the places high up while Simon took lower places, and Jace was sent out of the way and into the kitchen to help Maryse with the dishes and clean up. 

"Oh, the place looks lovely! Good job!" Maryse said as she came in.

"All thanks to Alexander," Magnus said, beaming. 

"Yeah, about that... Game's up, guys. Mum figured it out," Alec said awkwardly. 

"Man, you suck at this," Jace laughed, but quickly shut up when Maryse said, "And I know about the rest of you too."

A stunned silence greeted her words. 

"Wait, seriously?" Simon said, adjusting his glasses nervously. 

"Maybe I should have let you tell me when you were ready," she said, a little uncertain now, then added jokingly, "but poor Clary looks like she'd rather be anywhere else every time she's forced to sit with Jace."

"Hey!" Jace protested as the rest laughed. 

Clary sighed with relief and snuggled up to Izzy, nodding vehemently. 

"Still. We would still be here tomorrow morning arguing about how to hang the tinsel if it weren't for Alexander," Magnus said, and Alec flashed him a grin. 

"Are we still keeping up the act for Dad?" Jace asked. 

"That's up to you. But you don't have to with me," Maryse said. 

"Thanks, Mum," Izzy said quietly, going over to give Maryse a hug. 

They both wiped their eyes and laughed a little, and Maryse smiled at all of them. "Now, someone please pry Max out of his room, and let's go for dinner."

 

\--

 

When Alec woke up the next morning, Magnus' side of the bed was already empty, and he could hear the sounds of Magnus brushing his teeth. They'd both been so tired after dinner the night before that they'd had no energy for awkwardness - Alec had been out like a light the moment his head touched the pillow. 

He stretched out, indulging in the luxury of lazing in bed for just a while longer, and was surprised at how well-rested he felt. He frowned a little, wondering what had changed - in his experience, nights spent at the cabin always left him grouchy and stressed out in the mornings, more often than not with a crick in his neck.

He'd always assumed it was the bed, but maybe it'd just been forced proximity with his father. Last night, dinner had been the most enjoyable family affair he'd attended in a long time - everyone in good spirits, sitting with their actual partners, and free of the spectre of their father's displeasure and bigotry. And then of course, there'd been Magnus, who seemed to fit in with Alec's family so easily that Alec was already dreading the end of the vacation, when he probably wouldn't see Magnus again unless he needed a date for his office thing in June. 

He got out of the bed, yawning, and shuffled to the bathroom. "Morning," he mumbled. 

"Morning," Magnus replied brightly. 

"Slept ok? Did I keep you up with my snoring?" 

"No, I slept like the dead."

"We're going skiing today. Wanna join us?" Alec asked. 

"I don't know how to ski," Magnus admitted. "I thought I'd spend the day at the spa instead."

"Oh, ok. Yeah, just say you're with the Lightwoods, they'll put it on our tab," Alec said, and couldn't help feeling just a little bit disappointed that he wouldn't be seeing Magnus at all for the rest of the day. 

But Magnus looked a bit uncomfortable at the suggestion, so Alec quickly added, "I mean, it's the least I can do for dragging you all the way out here."

"Alright, then. Thank you," Magnus replied, smiling. 

And despite the relatively good start, Alec's day only seemed to be going downhill. When he went down with Magnus to the kitchen, he noticed that Jace was sitting next to Clary, and Simon was sitting next to Izzy again, all of them eating their cold cereal in sullen silence - and Maryse was glowering at Robert, who was seated at the head of the table, reading the morning newspaper. He glanced up at them, and he scowled. Alec and Magnus elected to ignore him completely. 

"Magnus, are you skiing with them today?" Maryse asked. 

Robert snorted derisively. "Just look at him. Skiing? He's probably going to the spa and getting his nails done."

Alec saw red, and was already rising out of his seat when Magnus put a hand over his and gave it a squeeze.

Behaving like he hadn't heard Robert at all, Magnus told Maryse, "Yes! Alexander is going to teach me. I've been looking forward to it."

"Magnus is very athletic. I'm sure he'll pick it up in no time," Alec agreed. Jace made an odd choking sound, and for whatever reason, Robert looked downright disgusted. 

Alec twisted his hand around so that it was resting palm up under Magnus' and held hands with Magnus in full view of Robert all through breakfast, just because he could. 

 

\--

 

"I've got to hand it to you, Alexander. I can't believe you said that in front of your father," Magnus said as he dug through his suitcases for the thickest things he owned. 

"Said what?" Alec asked, puzzled. 

"'Magnus is very athletic'?" 

"Why would- oh. Was that why Jace was laughing?" Alec asked, realisation dawning. "He thought it was a sex thing?"

"Oh, Alexander," Magnus laughed at the slightly horrified look on Alec's face. 

"Crap," Alec muttered. "Well, never mind that. Here, try this on, it's always been a bit too wide in the shoulders for me."

Magnus eyed the lime-green monstrosity Alec was holding out doubtfully. "I'm going to look like that one-eyed monster from Monsters Inc."

"No, you won't," Alec said with a snort. He helped Magnus into the parka, and Magnus had to admit that it was a lot warmer than anything Magnus himself owned.

"At least if I get buried in a snowdrift, you'll be able to find me really easily," Magnus said.

Alec cleared his throat. "Hey, you know you don't have to go if you don't want to. Fuck my Dad and his stupid gender stereotypes."

"No, it's alright, you only live once and all that. Besides, what are the chances of me getting another personal ski instructor _this_  cute," Magnus teased.

"Ha. Ha," Alec said, although his cheeks were turning pink. Magnus decided it was a good look on him.

 

Magnus was regretting his stubbornness slightly when they finally reached the ski trails and he got out of the car to bone-biting cold. It was bright and sunny, but Magnus could barely feel the warmth of the sun on his face, which was the only part of his body that was exposed to the vicious wind. They stopped by the equipment rental shop to get protective gear, ski boots, skis, and poles for Clary, Simon, and Magnus, and the three of them practiced the basics in the learners' area - posture, walking in skis, and how to move, stop, turn, fall safely, and pick themselves up from a fall, while Max looked on, bored.

"Alright, I think we can move on to the bunny slope," Alec said, leading them to the chairlifts.

Max refused to sit with any of them, preferring to go on ahead alone. Jace, Simon, Izzy, and Clary took the next one, leaving Alec and Magnus to take one by themselves. The lifts looked like they were moving really fast, but Magnus thought he managed to get on pretty gracefully despite the unwieldy skis on his feet, letting the lift sweep him off his feet.

Magnus had to admit, the view alone was almost worth the torture of the cold. They were as high as the tops of the trees, the sky was an endless expanse of blue dotted with a few wispy white clouds, and all around them Magnus could see the snowy peaks of the rest of the Catskill Mountains. Magnus turned away from the view to glance at Alec, and found Alec's eyes on him - clear hazel, unobstructed by the goggles resting at the top of Alec's head, and looking at Magnus in a way that made him feel a little like - well, like he was re-experiencing the weird swooping feeling he'd gotten in his gut when the chairlift swept him off his feet. 

"Do you know what I have in common with this snow?" Magnus asked him, trying to break the spell. 

Alec blinked. "If you say 'seven inches', I'm going to push you off this chairlift," Alec warned him jokingly.

"I'm wounded that you think I would stoop to such a crass joke, darling," Magnus sniffed. "Besides, I'm definitely an eight."

Alec rolled his eyes, obviously trying not to laugh. "Alright, I'll bite. So what _do_ you have in common with this snow?" 

"...I forgot," Magnus said airily, and Alec cracked up with laughter. 

"Get outta here," Alec said, giving Magnus a playful shove, and Magnus yelped, clutching at the safety rail. 

 

Magnus mastered the beginner's trail easily enough while Clary and Simon were still flailing in the snow, so Alec brought him over to the more intermediate ski trails. It didn't surprise him that skiing came so easily to him - sports had always been easy for Magnus, given his coordination, agility, and strength - but the joy of it surprised him. Yes, the snow got absolutely everywhere even though Magnus was wrapped up from head to toe like a burrito, and Magnus couldn't feel his fingers and toes anymore, but the exhilaration of zooming zigzag down the mountain, the scenery flying past in a blur and the wind whipping in his face as he was drawn inexorably downward by gravity, was a shot of pure adrenaline. At first, Alec kept yelling at him to slow down; afterwards, Alec kept pace right beside him, laughing as they raced each other down the mountain.

Making turns, slowing down when going over snow drifts, adjusting his centre of gravity, all became second nature as he got used to the motions, although he did wipe-out a number of times. But the worst fall he had by far happened a few hours in, when he went over a snow drift that was a bit higher than he'd expected, and it felt like he was flying for a crystalline, suspended moment before he crash-landed in the snow so hard that one of his skis was knocked off by the impact and he slid a few dozen feet down the mountain from the momentum.

"Magnus! Are you ok?" Alec asked, sliding over to him.

"Yeah," Magnus said with a breathless laugh, and let Alec help him up.

He dusted the worst of the snow off, and when he looked up Alec was squinting at him, his goggles pulled up, the concern clear on his face even though only the bit around his eyes was not covered by his ski mask.

_You're not looking for something serious,_ Magnus reminded himself. _Alexander deserves better than just a hook-up._

"Shall we go find the others and grab some lunch?" Magnus suggested. "I'm starving."

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

"Oh my god, Alexander!"  

"Sorry. I'll try to be more gentle." 

"No, keep going, it's just... fuck, it hurts." 

"Are you sure you still want to go skiing today?" Alec asked worriedly, continuing to carefully rub anti-inflammatory cream into the impressive bruises that had formed on Magnus' shins. 

"I'm fine. The cream is helping," Magnus insisted. 

"Shin bang is pretty common for beginners. Your posture is fine, so you probably overdid it yesterday, and didn't notice that your ski boots didn't fit right," Alec said. "I'll get a gel pad for you, that should help. But maybe you should take it easy today."

Magnus hummed non-committally in response, and Alec narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm serious, Magnus." 

"Oh, darling. 'Too much' is my middle name," Magnus said with a grin. 

Alec let out an exasperated huff. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"I've only got one more day here, Alexander. I have to make the most of it."

"Right," Alec mumbled. "Let's go, the rest of them are probably wondering why we're taking so long to come down."

It wasn't fair, Alec thought, as he watched Magnus exchanging really bad skiing puns with Clary and Izzy over breakfast. They lived just round the corner from each other, and both of them went to the bar where they'd first arranged to meet pretty often. And yet, Alec had spent years going out with one shitty boyfriend after another while Magnus struggled with his on-again-off-again relationship with his ex-girlfriend. They'd only met because Alec had been desperate enough to advertise for a fake boyfriend on stupid Grindr, and although Magnus had been clear from the start that the only reason why he'd been on Grindr in the first place was because he wasn't looking for a serious relationship at the moment, Alec  _really_ liked him.

Well, they had two more days at the cabin. Alec was usually the one who got hit on, and had no idea how to even begin wooing a guy like Magnus, but maybe he'd be able to think up something in the next two days with some help and advice from his siblings and their partners. 

"Stop flicking your Froot Loops at my head, asshole," Simon hissed at Jace under his breath. 

"Make me," Jace said with a smirk and a wink, apparently feeling bold enough to do whatever passed for flirting with his boyfriend since Robert had already gone off to the bar. 

...or maybe Alec would be better off just going it alone.

 

\--

  

Clary and Simon were still not very confident of their skiing skills, but Max was thoroughly bored of being stuck with them on the beginner's slopes, so Magnus had suggested that Max could come along with him and Alec. He hadn't done it out of purely altruistic reasons, of course. Spending all that time alone with Alec yesterday had strained Magnus' resolve not to start anything, serious or not, with Alec.  

It wasn't fair. How was anybody supposed to resist that lopsided grin, those earnest eyes, or the overprotective hovering that was incredibly maddening but also kind of sweet? And as if spending a whole day on the slopes watching Alec being all graceful and handsome as he zoomed down the mountain like he was in an advertisement for the ski resort wasn't enough, despite all that physical exertion, Magnus had been so hopped up on adrenaline that he hadn't been able to drop off to sleep as easily as he'd expected. Instead, he'd lain awake listening to Alec gently snoring right next to him, and nobody had the right to have snores that adorable, with that soft little snort at the end, the way Alec kind of scrunched up his face and wriggled his nose in his sleep, and- oh god, what had he even been thinking, watching Alec sleep like some sort of psychopath?! 

So, having Max around as a chaperone was good. Keeping some distance between them and forcing Alec to split his attention between making puppy-dog eyes at Magnus and hovering protectively after his baby brother was good. After five years of being with Camille, even though Magnus could feel that he was gradually healing after finally deciding to break it off for good, mostly he still felt a bit like his heart had been put through an industrial-strength blender. He needed some time to figure out how to be himself again before he could even consider diving back into dating and putting his heart out there. 

They skied until it was time to break for lunch, and Magnus could feel Alec's eyes on him as he limped to the resort café. Alec didn't say anything, although he did quietly reach out a hand to steady Magnus when they were going up the steps.

"How about we do something else after lunch?" Alec suggested to the rest over slices of gourmet pizza. "I mean, there's other stuff to do here, you know. I think there's a brewery tour, or we could go snow tubing." He was ostensibly addressing Clary and Simon, but Magnus thought he knew why Alec had brought it up.

"Snow tubing? What's that?" Simon asked, intrigued.

"It's like sledding, but with something that looks like a swimming tube," Izzy explained.

"Snow tubing is for babies," Jace scoffed. "But there's a zipline - and, like, skiing is awesome, but dangling 600 feet up in the air and zooming down a wire at like, 50 miles per hour is  _unbelievable_."

"That does sound like fun," Magnus said, and tried to hide his grin at Alec's look of horror.

"Let's all go!" Clary agreed eagerly. "My shins hurt, anyway."

"Don't worry, I'll kiss them better tonight," Izzy promised, grinning when Clary's cheeks turned pink. 

"Yeah, we can always go skiing again tomorrow," Jace said, and clapped Magnus on the back. "Usually we go up to the summit of Hunter West and race each other down the K-27 on the last day - that's one of the most difficult trails on Hunter. You should come up with us."

"A race? What are the stakes?" Magnus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Magnus, you literally learned how to ski _yesterday_ ," Alec huffed. "Jace, we're not bringing Magnus on a double black diamond trail tomorrow."

"Come on, you said he's a natural. He'll be fine," Jace said complacently, then told Magnus, "Same stakes as we have every year - loser has to streak across the resort carpark at midnight."

"Jace usually loses," Izzy noted smugly.

"Only because I don't want Max to have to go running naked out in the cold," Jace said. Max grunted and barely looked up from his phone.

"All of you are insane," Simon declared. "Magnus, get out and save yourself while you still can!" He paused. "Oh wait, I totally forgot, you guys are just pretending." 

"Yeah," Magnus agreed, avoiding Alec’s eyes. "It's just pretend."

By the time they got back to the cabin, they were cold, tired, and hungry, but still in high spirits after an afternoon spent zipping above the tops of the trees _and_ getting in line with children to slip and slide down a slope on rubber tubes - all six of them linked together and taking up one single lane, yelling and laughing, while Max rolled his eyes and refused to even stand anywhere near them after that. The Lightwoods had arranged to have their Christmas Eve dinner delivered to the cabin from the restaurant in the main building of the resort, but once they stepped out of the car, Magnus could hear Maryse and Robert shouting at each other, and Magnus had a feeling that a cozy family Christmas dinner was not in the cards.

They were loud enough for Magnus to hear every word that they were screaming at each other even though the cars were parked a few feet away, and from the sound of it, Robert had spotted them at the ski lodge during lunch and had realised that Jace and Izzy had been lying about who they were dating, and after a few more drinks had decided that this was all Maryse's fault. 

They hesitated for a few minutes, wondering if their presence would make it better or worse; then there was the sound of breaking glass. The three elder Lightwood siblings exchanged a look and rushed in.

"Hey, Max, maybe you should sit this one out," Simon suggested, but Max just shot him a disgusted look before going in after his siblings.

In whispered tones, Magnus, Clary, and Simon discussed if they should go back to the car to wait, but decided against it eventually, just in case their help was needed. The shouting had stopped but Magnus thought he could hear the low rumble of Alec's voice and some snatches of the conversation when Izzy or Jace raised their voices. After a while, Robert Lightwood wrenched the main door open, and scowled when he caught sight of them. Taking care to give them all a wide berth, he stomped out into the snow, making a beeline for his car, then drove off in the dark.

Well. Guess there was no need to pretend that he was Alec's boyfriend anymore, Magnus thought.

Figuring that it should be safe to go in, the three of them entered the cabin cautiously to find Maryse in tears, with her children crowded around her, and one of the vases that had been on a sidetable was in pieces on the floor. Alec was just coming out of the kitchen with a broom and dustpan, and carefully swept up all the shards of broken glass, then gestured that they should follow him to the kitchen.

"What happened?" Clary asked in a low voice as Alec disposed of the broken glass in the trash. 

"Um, my parents had a huge fight, and my mum decided she'd had enough and told him she was getting a divorce and he'd be hearing from her lawyer after Christmas," Alec said, running a hand through his hair awkwardly and staring at his toes. "This place was her dad's, so she told him to get out." 

"Shit, man. That's rough. I'm so sorry," Simon said. 

"Alexander, I think we should go. Your mother needs all of you right now, and Christmas is a time for family," Magnus said, and Alec looked up with wide eyes. 

"No, it's fine-" he protested. 

"Magnus is right. We shouldn't be intruding, and it can't be easy for your mum, or any of you. I think we should give you guys some privacy," Clary agreed. 

Alec glanced out of the door at his mum and his siblings huddled together on the couch. Izzy had her arms around Maryse, Jace was holding the box of Kleenex for her, and for once Max wasn't on his phone. Magnus could see that Alec knew they had a point - Maryse probably didn't appreciate having an audience to the breakdown of her marriage.

"At least stay for dinner, and stay the night. It isn't safe to drive down the mountain in the dark, especially if you're not familiar with the roads," Alec finally said. 

  

The mood at dinner was subdued, with Maryse trying to keep up a brave smile throughout the whole affair. They all decided that it would be a good idea to turn in earlier that night, and while Magnus was sure leaving was the right call, he couldn't help feeling a little gloomy as he scoured Alec's room for his things. Sure, he was conflicted about how he felt about Alec, but he'd thought that he would have a couple more days to be conflicted about it. 

Magnus glanced over his shoulder when he heard Alec come in, and he saw Alec's face fall.

"You're packing already?" Alec asked.

"Biscuit wants to leave early tomorrow morning, and I didn't want to leave things to the last minute, in case I leave anything behind," Magnus explained. Alec nodded absently, and Magnus followed his gaze to the lime-green parka Magnus had been borrowing, now slung over the back of a chair. "I'll get that dry-cleaned."

"No, it's fine, just leave it," Alec said. "Do you need any help with packing?" 

"Oh, I'm already done," Magnus said, closing his luggage carefully.

They got ready for bed in silence and turned off the lights, lying awake in the dark. Magnus had lived in big cities all his life, be it Jakarta, Madrid, or New York, where the nights were never completely dark or completely quiet, but out here, he could almost imagine that he could hear the snow falling outside. The quiet should have been unnerving, but with Alec lying next to him, their arms only just brushing against each other's, the soft sounds of them breathing in and out tempering the silence, and cocooned in an unfamiliar room and unfamiliar bed that smelled unmistakably like Alec - warm, masculine, with a hint of some earthy fragrance, probably from the soap he used - Magnus found that he rather liked it here, far more than he should have.

"I'm sorry, I know I promised that I'd watch _Love Actually_ with you tonight," Alec suddenly said, breaking the quiet.

Magnus laughed softly, surprised that Alec had even remembered. "Don't worry about it. I don't think either of us are really in the mood for a rom-com tonight."

"They don't have it on cable here anyway," Alec said. The silence stretched out between them, then he said, "And I'm sorry about making you guys leave early." 

"That's ok. The office Christmas party was today, so I have successfully avoided Camille. Besides, I've just realised that I completely forgot about buying Christmas presents for your family, so maybe it's a good thing," Magnus joked.

"Nah. Nobody would have minded," Alec said.

"But in all seriousness, you don't need to apologise for taking care of your family first, Alexander," Magnus said.

Alec let out a slightly bitter chuckle. "Did you know, that was one of the things Raj and I used to fight about? He said I was being selfish for putting my family first."

"I gather that Raj was kind of an asshole. Why did you even end up dating him?" Magnus asked. 

Alec was quiet for a while, lost in thought. "I guess... because he was there?" he replied. "I can't even say the relationship was purely for physical reasons, because the sex sucked. I met him in the gym, he chatted me up, and that was it."  

"So you weren't  _in_   _love_?" Magnus asked slightly teasingly. 

Alec snorted. "No." He was quiet for a while, then asked more seriously, "What about you? Were you in love with Camille?"

Magnus shook his head. "I thought I was at first, but even now, after five years, I'm not sure. All my relationships started out being mostly about the sex, and sort of... stayed that way. It just feels like I never got to get to know them properly before sleeping with them, and sex always complicates things. Sometimes I think that even if I found love I wouldn't know what to do with it." 

"Come on, Magnus. That's bullshit."

"Is it really? I'm 32, and I can't say for sure that I've ever been in love. Or at least, I don't think it should be called being in love if they don't quite feel the same way - there should be another word for it."

"Different names for different types of love, like the ancient Greeks had. Eros, philia, agape," Alec suggested. 

"Exactly. Instead of lumping it all together in one word," Magnus said. "It doesn't even have to be that complicated or hard to remember. Instead of telling someone that you love them, if you're not quite sure yet, you can say you  _like_ like them, then that you _like like_ like them..." 

"And just keep piling on the 'like's until you get there?" Alec asked with a laugh. "And what happens if they never get there? If they're never ready for the word 'love'?" 

Magnus cleared his throat. "Well, then at least you'd know," he replied. 

They were both quiet for a while after that.

"You know, I'm 28 and I've never asked a guy out," Alec said. 

"Seriously? Not once?" Magnus asked, glancing over at Alec. "Lucky bastard."

Alec snorted. "Why the hell does that make me lucky?"

"Well, you've never had to put yourself out there. Guys just fall into your lap."

"Or maybe I've just never met anyone who made me feel brave enough to make the first move," Alec said, and in the pregnant pause that followed, Magnus had a terrible premonition that Alec was going to add on something horribly romantic like ' _until you came along'_ , and Magnus was going to lose his shit because he couldn't deal with a declaration like that right now.

He pretended to yawn. "I should really go to sleep. Goodnight, Alexander," he said, then rolled on his side with his back to Alec.

"Goodnight, Magnus," he heard Alec reply, so quietly that he almost missed it.

  

\--

  

They should have had more time, Alec thought, all through brushing his teeth while standing side-by-side with Magnus in the bathroom, through breakfast, through helping Magnus carry his luggage downstairs. He wasn't dumb; he knew Magnus had been trying to let him down gently the night before, but a little nagging hope still lingered.

He took one last look around his room to make sure Magnus hadn't left anything behind, and the king-sized bed suddenly looked too big for one person. 

There was a flurry of hugs and kisses as everybody said goodbye, but when Magnus came round to him, Alec ended up sticking out a hand for him to shake, and the slight look of hurt on Magnus' face just confused Alec even more. 

"Thanks for coming," Alec said, and promptly wanted to kick himself.

"It was my pleasure," Magnus said a little cheekily, laughing when Alec rolled his eyes, then moved on to say goodbye to Izzy, who immediately pulled him into a tight hug. 

"It's still early in the skiing season, and we'll be back in Hunter Mountain for day trips throughout the season. You should come with us," Izzy told Magnus. 

Magnus smiled and nodded. "Thank you for the invitation, I think I might actually take you up on it," he said, sounding a little surprised at himself.

They loaded the luggage into the car, and the Lightwoods stood there waving until the car was out of sight. The cabin was going to be so much quieter without Clary, Simon, and Magnus, Alec thought. 

"What was that about coming up for ski trips? You're always too busy to come with us. It's usually just Max, me, and Alec," Jace commented. "That's why Mum started this Christmas thing in the first place, so we'd all be in the same place for once."

"Clary really enjoyed herself, and Simon did too. I thought we could make it a thing," Izzy replied with a shrug. She slipped an arm around Alec's waist, and added, "You know, if Magnus is going to be skiing regularly, he should buy his own equipment instead of renting. And he's going to need someone to help him get his boots fitted, pick out the right gear, clothing..."

Alec shot his sister a sharp look. 

"You're welcome," she said brightly, and winked at him before heading back into the cabin. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to get the final chapter up by Christmas! *fingers crossed*


	4. Chapter 4

 

 

"What do you mean you guys aren't dating?" Simon asked Magnus incredulously.

"We're not. Alexander and I are just friends," Magnus said.

"Then what was that thing on Valentine's Day, where you guys went on a date to that fancy restaurant in East Village?"

"That wasn't... there was a 2-for-1 deal and neither of us wanted to be alone on Valentine's Day," Magnus said, and even as the words were coming out of his mouth he cringed at how ridiculous he sounded. 

Simon smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand and groaned. "Come on, Magnus. Don't lead Alec on, ok? He's a nice guy."

"I'm not leading him on!" Magnus said indignantly.

"Ok, Raphael, you be the judge - they go skiing together every two weeks, without fail, whether or not the rest of us are going. They go to the movies together, and have dinner together at Magnus' place every other night because Magnus says it's easier for cook for two. But Magnus claims that they're not dating."

Raphael frowned at Simon over the rim of his coffee cup, and turned to Magnus and asked, "Who is this and why am I being subjected to his company, again?"

"You- ok, never mind. Magnus, can't you see where I'm coming from?" Simon asked, electing to ignore Raphael. 

Magnus sighed. "I know how it looks. But the truth is... you know, when we went up to the cabin for Christmas, on the night before we left, Alec tried to let me know that he was interested, but I wasn't ready for a new relationship and kind of rejected him. So he's given up, and and now we're just friends."

Simon held up a hand. "Ok, firstly - are you sure we're talking about the same guy? Because the Alec I know doesn't know the meaning of giving up and will keep at it even if it kills him, and secondly, 'just friends' do not do all that together. And thirdly, god, the way you smiled when I basically said Alec is a stubborn asshole! Raphael, tell me you're seeing this!"

"All I'm seeing is a random guy who sat down at my table uninvited when I was having lunch with my colleague," Raphael drawled. 

Simon glared at Raphael. "Well, I actually do have to run, I'm supposed to meet Clary for lunch," he told Magnus. "I'm not going to tell Alec about this for now, I promise. But seriously, tell Alec about the triple date this weekend, since you actually see him more often than any of us do - and bonus, actually come as a real couple!" 

Magnus rubbed his temple and waved goodbye to Simon as he dashed off, waited until he was out of sight, then told Raphael, "Stop flirting with Simon. He has a boyfriend."

"Ah. ¡Qué lástima!" Raphael said regretfully. "But he's not wrong about this Alec. I was under the impression that you two were dating, too."

Magnus groaned and buried his face in his hands. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I meant to keep my distance. He'd just broken up with his boyfriend, and I needed some time after Camille." 

"You didn't want this to be just a rebound for either of you," Raphael said, nodding in understanding, "but that was three months and many ski trips and home-cooked dinners ago. I think it's a bit too late for that."

"It's just so easy with him, you know? With everyone else it always felt like I was giving pieces of myself away, but Alexander doesn't make me feel like that. He makes me feel like... like there's  _more_  of me," Magnus said, shredding his paper napkin absently.

"God help us, as if there wasn't already too much of you as it is," Raphael said, grinning when Magnus shot him a withering look. "Then what's the problem? Not every relationship has to be something out of an overdramatic soap opera."  

Magnus stopped worrying the napkin. "That's the problem, Raphael. We haven't said anything to each other about our expectations for this relationship. I don't even know what kind of relationship this _is_. Really good friends? Friends with benefits but without the benefits? In my moments of weakness, I start to wonder if maybe Alec really has given up on this ever turning into something serious, and it doesn't help that I've been the king of mixed signals either. Is it so bad that for once, I want to be the one being wooed?"

"Would you be able to stop not-dating him if he never got the guts to ask you out properly?" Raphael asked shrewdly. 

Magnus hummed, deep in thought. "No, I'd probably date him anyway. But maybe I need some time away from him to clear my head. A few days to figure out what I really want."

 

\--

 

"What do you want out of this thing with Magnus, bro? I mean, if you and Magnus aren't really dating, what the fuck are you guys doing?" Jace asked. 

"Hanging out? What else do you think we're doing?" Alec replied evasively.

"No, you guys are not 'hanging out'. You're practically joined at the hip, and not in the fun way." 

"Don't be gross. And he's not here tonight," Alec pointed out a little defensively. 

"Yeah, why isn't he here tonight? Didn't you tell him Mum said he was invited?" Jace asked. 

"He said he was busy," Alec said with a shrug. In fact, Magnus had been "busy" a lot in the past week, and Alec couldn't help feeling that Magnus was avoiding him. 

"I don't know, kind of feels like you guys are dating but without either of you admitting that you are," Jace observed. "You know, fake dating, but the only people you're faking out is yourselves."

"How much have you had to drink?" Alec asked wryly.

Jace shrugged, taking another swig of what was probably his seventh beer. "Simon bumped into Magnus last week, and apparently Magnus thinks that you're not interested in him. Shit, I think I wasn't supposed to tell you that." 

"What? Why would he think that?" Alec said in alarm.

"Uh... something about him rejecting you and you giving up on him? I don't know, I gotta go pee," Jace said, shoving his empty bottle at Alec and staggering off to the bathroom.

"What the fuck - you can't just say something like that and walk off! Hey!" Alec called after his brother. "Jeez."

His first thought was to call Simon to ask him what the hell was going on, but Simon was the designated driver and he was driving Clary and Izzy home in the snow, and he shouldn't be calling Simon now for something as trivial as this - or Simon might not even answer him, if he'd told Jace not to tell Alec. Jace had probably fallen asleep in the toilet, and Alec wasn't going to get anything coherent out of him anyway.

The thing was, after his admittedly half-hearted attempt to tell Magnus how he felt on Christmas Eve, he hadn't had tried to make the first move again. It was Magnus who had called after Christmas to ask for advice on buying gear, and like everything between him and Magnus, things had just fallen into place - shopping for skiing gear had led to meeting up for dinner before shopping, and that had led to going to catch a movie together after shopping, and _that_  had led to Magnus offering to cook dinner for the both of them because eating out all the time was so expensive. Other than the fact that neither of them had actually talked about what they were doing, Alec thought it'd been going well... sort of.

"Is something wrong?" Maryse asked, coming up behind him.

"It's nothing."

"Didn't sound like nothing," Maryse said. "Is it about Magnus? Why didn't he come for pizza night? Izzy gave me the impression that he usually comes along with you."

"I don't know," Alec admitted. "I probably messed up."

Maryse raised an eyebrow at him. "Haven't you heard the saying, 'it takes two to tango'? Nothing that goes wrong in a relationship is ever the fault of only one of you. And yes, I mean that even for everything that happened between me and your dad."

"I don't know, looks like it was plenty his fault, seeing as he was a massive asshole," Alec muttered.

Maryse chuckled. "Your grandparents were conservative, religious folk, and I was brought up with the same prejudices Robert had. But when I started to suspect that my children were keeping secrets from me..." She shook her head. "It wasn't easy, questioning all the things I thought I knew, but I knew that I had to change my point of view if I wanted to stay in your lives. Maybe Robert was at fault for choosing not to learn some tolerance for the sake of his children, but it wasn't anybody's fault that your father and I grew into very different people - the choices we made were all our own." 

"Do you regret marrying Dad?" Alec asked her quietly.

"I don't regret getting married to your father, because if I hadn't, then I wouldn't have had the four of you - not even Jace, because he was Robert's godson. You, Izzy, Jace, and Max are everything to me, and I believe you have to take the good with the bad," she said. "But when I was a lot younger, there was this guy in high school whom I really liked - Luke. And I think he liked me too, but we were so young, and didn't know what we were doing, just too shy to take that first step. And then he moved away, and that was that." She shook her head, smiling a little sadly. "I always wondered what would have happened if I'd been a little more daring, a little bolder. Maybe it would have amounted to nothing in the end, but it's the chances that you didn't dare to take that you will always look back on and wonder, 'what if?'. And that, my love, is regret." 

Alec dropped his head. "I need to talk to Magnus, but I don't know how to start."

Maryse smiled and slipped her arm through his. "The skiing season is coming to an end soon. I was thinking of doing a do-over for Christmas, and inviting everyone back to the cabin for the weekend. Tell Magnus he's invited, and I expect him to see him there, no 'if's or 'but's." 

Alec gave her a small smile in return. "Yes, ma'm."

  

\--

  

Magnus hadn't known what to expect of this ski trip. Alec was picking him up on Friday evening, and they would only be there until Sunday, but he hoped he would have enough time to set his plan in motion. Ok, maybe calling it a "plan" was a bit generous, because his plan was mostly just to wing it, but hopefully he'd reach the desired result in the end - which was to tell Alec that he thought Alec was very lovely and could they please be proper boyfriends already.

Alec picked him up at 7pm, helping him put away his luggage and skiing gear before handing out the sandwiches he'd picked up from the deli for their dinner. Magnus had considered asking Alec before they even reached the cabin, but the roads were pitch black, the only lights had been the headlights of Alec's car cutting into the darkness ahead of them and illuminating the flakes of falling snow, and Magnus hadn't wanted to distract Alec, whose knuckles were white on the steering wheel and shoulders were already tight with tension, possibly from the bad road conditions. Magnus was honestly quite relieved when they arrived at the cabin in one piece.

They were the last to arrive, and when Magnus stepped into the cabin with his luggage in tow, all of the Lightwoods and their partners (minus Max, who was probably in the attic) were waiting for them with suspiciously cheery grins and a slightly anticipatory air that made Magnus feel like he was going to be on the receiving end of either a practical joke or a surprise wedding proposal.  

"What's going on?" he asked warily.  

"Nothing. What makes you think there's something going on?" Izzy asked innocently.  

"The fact that Simon is stepping on Jace's toes, the way that he does when he's trying to stop Jace from accidentally saying something he shouldn't be saying?" Magnus replied.  

"We're just glad you could be here," Maryse said, greeting him with a hug and cheek kiss. 

"Guys, leave him alone," Alec grumbled, irritable and keyed-up, when he came in with his own bags. 

All the pieces clicked into place: Alec wanted to ask him out properly, too.  

Magnus carried his luggage up to Alec's room already dying with curiosity and feeling as nervous as Alec looked. He stepped into the room gingerly, half expecting it to be covered with romantic post-its or something, but the room looked exactly like how Magnus remembered. 

"Where are your things?" he asked Alec, suddenly realising that Alec had come up empty-handed. 

"I'm sleeping in the bedroom downstairs. The one that used to be my dad's."

"Why?" Magnus asked, bewildered. 

"Because we don't have to pretend that we're dating, so it doesn't make sense for us to share a room?" 

"Oh. Then  _I_ should take that room. I don't want to chase you out of your own room."

"It's fine, really. Um... have a good rest," Alec said, already backing out of the room. 

"Alexander!" 

"Good night," Alec mumbled, and shut the door behind him, leaving Magnus feeling exasperated and very confused.

Magnus glanced around at the big empty room, sighed and cursed the gentlemanly tendencies of the adorable moron who was probably trying to make a big romantic gesture out of this. And it wasn't that Magnus wasn't over the fucking moon, because this was exactly what he'd wanted and hadn't expected to get, but poor Alec had kind of looked like he was going to puke from anxiety, and Magnus hadn't intended to do that to him at all. He grabbed his phone and started typing out a message - he was going to need some reinforcements in his corner.

 

\--

 

"Are you ready to get your man, bro?" Jace asked, clapping Alec on the shoulder at the breakfast table. 

"Can you guys stop being so fucking obvious?" Alec hissed. 

"Obvious about what?" Magnus asked from behind them.  

Alec turned in surprise, prepared to deny everything, and frowned when he saw what Magnus was wearing. "Is that mine?" 

"Izzy got it out of your luggage for me," Magnus replied, fiddling with the zipper of the lime-green parka. 

"But you've got your own stuff now, and you hate the colour," Alec said.

"Oh, but this one smells like you," Magnus replied airily. Alec caught sight of Izzy and Clary standing behind Magnus, grinning from ear-to-ear like cats that had gotten the cream. 

He looked back at Magnus and saw that he was trying to keep a straight face, his eyes twinkling with mirth, and Alec could feel the relieved laughter bubbling up inside him. Magnus knew, and Magnus was going to agree to go out with him. But goddamnit, Alec had spent a few sleepless nights coming up with a whole plan, it was a really fucking cheesy plan, but he was going to stick to it. 

Alec cleared his throat and gestured at the cup of coffee on the table. "Three creamers and one sugar, just the way you like it."

"You remembered! Thank you," Magnus said, pretending to be surprised, as if Alec hadn't gotten it right the first time they'd met up for a ski trip on their own, back in January.

"So, I thought we could ride down some of the intermediate slopes first, and work our way up to Hellgate," Alec suggested. 

"Oh darling, I'll ride anything you want me to, especially if there's a black diamond for me at the end of it," Magnus replied, batting his eyelashes at Alec, and Alec barely suppressed his snort of laughter.

Simon looked from Alec to Magnus, and groaned. "Why are the two of you like this?" 

"Like what?" Magnus asked innocently.

"Wait. What's going on here?" Jace asked with a frown.

"I have no idea what y'all are talking about," Alec said, hiding his grin behind his coffee cup.

  

\--

 

As it turned out, being wooed by Alec had involved getting stuck in a chairlift that Alec had bribed the operator to stall for half an hour at the place with the best view, being serenaded by a mariachi band Alec claimed to have nothing to do with at lunch, then racing each other down the slopes until they were both breathless with laughter. They had an amazing dinner at the resort restaurant, with everyone teasing Alec and Magnus for how extra they were being, but Alec still hadn't explicitly said anything about asking him out until they'd all turned in for the night, and Magnus heard a knock on the door. 

"What can I do for you, Alexander?" Magnus asked with a grin when he opened the door to find Alec standing there with a bottle of wine, a pint of ice-cream, and a laptop under his arm.  

"I promised to watch _Love Actually_ with you on Christmas eve, but I never did. So here I am," Alec said, looking a little nervous again.

"It's the 30th of March, Alexander, Christmas is long over," Magnus laughed. "But I'm not going to say 'no' to _Love Actually_. Come on in." 

They huddled together on the bed to watch the movie on Alec's laptop, eating ice-cream and drinking cold wine even though it was snowing outside. By the time the end credits were rolling, they were wrapped around each other and Magnus was shivering, although he'd never admit it. 

"It's midnight. Merry Christmas, Alexander," Magnus joked.

"Merry Christmas, Magnus," Alec replied softly. 

There was no need to pretend that this would have gone any other way - they leaned forward at the same time, and kissed; a gentle, soft kiss at first, then Alec cupped Magnus' cheek and kissed him deeper, slipping his tongue into Magnus' mouth and gasping when Magnus' hand found its way under his sweater.

Alec's laptop fell off the bed and onto the thick carpet with a thump and he didn't even look around, and pretty soon other items joined it on the floor - sweaters, sweatpants, a handful of Magnus' rings missing the nightstand entirely, Alec's boxers, and finally Magnus' briefs. 

"Shit, you weren't joking about the eight inches," Alec said, licking his lips as he looked down. "I actually really wish I'd thought to bring condoms."

"I have condoms and lube in my bag," Magnus admitted. 

Alec grinned down at Magnus in the dark. "You packed lube and condoms? Isn't that a bit presumptuous?"

"Is it really considered being presumptuous when we're currently rolling around naked in your bed?" Magnus retorted, a little breathless from kissing. 

"Fair point," Alec said with a laugh, and stole another kiss before going to retrieve the condoms and lube. 

Alec had Magnus on his back and knelt between his legs, pushing them apart gently so he had more room, then leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of Magnus' cock. Magnus' cock jerked involuntarily, smearing a line of precome across Alec's lips, and Magnus let out a groan when Alec licked the taste of Magnus off his lips. Alec's eyes never left Magnus' as he took just the head of Magnus' cock into his mouth and swirled his tongue around it. Then he reached behind himself with lube-slick fingers and pressed one finger in, moaning around Magnus' cock in his mouth. 

"Alexander, you should let me do that," Magnus murmured. 

Alec popped off Magnus' cock and shook his head. "I like it like this," he said, and flicked his tongue at the head of Magnus' cock as he pumped his finger in and out of himself. 

And who was Magnus to deny him, especially when Alec looked so fucking hot working himself open while he worshipped Magnus' cock with his lips and tongue, teasing him with open-mouthed kisses on his inner thighs and gently sucking his balls into the wet heat of his mouth. By the time Alec was three fingers deep, with Magnus' cock in his mouth muffling his moans as he rode his own fingers, Magnus was clawing the sheets from trying not to come on the spot. 

" _Fuck_ , Alexander, please," Magnus gasped. "It's too good, I'm going to come." 

Alec pulled off, breathing hard, and gave his own cock a few lazy strokes while Magnus took some time to pull himself together enough to get the condom on. Then he moved up and straddled Magnus, and when he sank down on Magnus' cock, his whole body arched with pleasure, head thrown back as he slowly fucked himself down. 

"Magnus, Magnus," he chanted, bracing his hands on Magnus' thighs for leverage and shuddering with pleasure as Magnus ran his hands all over Alec's body with gentle, reverent touches; lingering on his strong thighs, the firm muscle of his abs and pecs, thumbs rubbing over the pebbled nipples peeking through the hair on Alec's chest. And of course there was Alec's cock, beautiful and proud and seeming to strain away from Alec's body, begging to be touched. Alec let out a harsh gasp when Magnus closed his hand around his shaft and ran his thumb across the sensitive slit over and over again, until Magnus was finally fully seated inside Alec's body. 

Magnus flexed his cock inside Alec’s body, which was stretched so tight around him that there was no give at all, and Alec cried out in pleasure. 

"Are you ok?" Magnus asked, his voice strained from trying to keep still. 

"Yeah, it just... a lot," Alec panted out. "Fuck."

Magnus urged Alec to lean forward towards him, holding Alec in his arms and kissing him slowly and deeply until he could feel Alec relaxing as he adjusted to Magnus' cock inside him, then dug his heels into the bed and thrust up shallowly. Alec gasped, but kept kissing him, moaning against Magnus' lips as Magnus began to thrust up a little harder, a little faster. Alec's cock was trapped between their bodies, smearing precome on their abs, and when Magnus' fingers found Alec’s rim where he was taking Magnus' cock so beautifully, Alec keened and shivered in Magnus' arms. 

"Oh god, _fuck_ ," Alec moaned and buried his face in Magnus' neck when Magnus gently pulled his ass cheeks wide, stretching him further. 

Pushing himself in as deep as he could go, Magnus held Alec tight and flipped them around so that he could fuck Alec harder and deeper, his cock slamming into Alec's prostate with every thrust and their lips never leaving each other's. Alec's desperate moans of Magnus' name began to devolve into wordless gasps, and Magnus knew Alec was close.

"Come for me," he whispered breathlessly against Alec's lips as he fitted his hand around Alec's cock, his own climax almost within reach, and it only took him a few strokes before Alec came with a sharp cry, spilling all over Magnus' fist as Magnus fucked him through it and came inside Alec just moments later.  

After that, Alec let Magnus pull him close, their bodies flush against each other.

"So, I hear you've never been the one to make the first move on a guy," Magnus teased. "Does this mean that you _like_ like me, Alexander?" 

"I think it might be possible that I _like like_ like you," Alec replied. 

"That's good. Because I think I _like like_ like you too. Maybe even _like like like_ like."

"If we keep this up, I'm going to need to start counting on fingers to keep track - _like like like_ like," Alec murmured, and brought Magnus' hand to his lips to kiss one finger for each 'like' he counted off.

"You're a terrible cheeseball," Magnus said with a snort. "Although I have to admit when you turned up at the door, I half expected you to have a placard that said 'To me, you are perfect', like in the movie."

Magnus could hear the grin in Alec's voice when he replied, "I'll be honest - I almost did do that." Magnus dissolved into giggles and couldn't stop until Alec turned around in his arms to kiss him.

And outside, the snow kept falling, sweeping white over the towering spruce and the skiing tracks they had made on the slopes the day before, leaving a layer of fresh snow ready for new tracks to be made.

 

\--

 

The next morning, when all the Lightwoods, including Max, finally shuffled downstairs, enticed by the smell of pancakes and bacon, they found Alec and Magnus in the kitchen, moving with the practiced ease of two people who knew their way around each other and knew when to hand the other this knife or that plate without talking.

Maryse was already at the counter, starting on her breakfast. "Oh my god, these huevos rancheros are _incredible_ ," she declared, and waved a fork at Alec. "Under no circumstances are you allowed to let this man slip through your fingers."

"Yes, ma'm," Alec said with a grin. He looked over at Magnus, and couldn't help himself from leaning in to steal a kiss. "I wasn't intending to."

"Oh thank fuck, has everyone in this family finally sorted out all their relationship drama?" Max blurted out. "Well, Merry fucking Christmas to all of us or whatever." 

"The worst is far from over, little brother," Izzy said sagely, hopping on a stool and pulling a plate of bacon and pancakes toward herself. "If this is the way they're going to be just to ask each other out, just imagine the proposal!"

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys had fun reading, Merry Christmas, everyone! <3


End file.
